In mathematics, a sequence of functions from a set S to a metric space M is said to be uniformly Cauchy if:

• .

between two functions is defined by

Convergence criteria

A sequence of functions {fn} from S to M is pointwise Cauchy if, for each x S, the sequence {fn(x)} is a Cauchy sequence in M. This is a weaker condition than being uniformly Cauchy.

In general a sequence can be pointwise Cauchy and not pointwise convergent, or it can be uniformly Cauchy and not uniformly convergent. Nevertheless, if the metric space M is complete, then any pointwise Cauchy sequence converges pointwise to a function from S to M. Similarly, any uniformly Cauchy sequence will tend uniformly to such a function.

The uniform Cauchy property is frequently used when the S is not just a set, but a topological space, and M is a complete metric space. The following theorem holds:

• Let S be a topological space and M a complete metric space. Then any uniformly Cauchy sequence of continuous functions fn : S M tends uniformly to a unique continuous function f : S M.

Generalization to uniform spaces

A sequence of functions from a set S to a uniform space U is said to be uniformly Cauchy if:

• For any entourage E of U.

See also

• Modes of convergence (annotated index)

References